Constitution of optimum construction machine combination for earthworks

Excavation and earthworks are very large-volume works applied in enterprises such as road and dam constructions and open mines. Construction machinery used in excavation and earthworks is one of the high-cost expenditure items for contractors. The selection of equipment and truck fleet to be used to realize the targeted project cost and duration in the business planning process is of great importance. The selection criteria include the construction equipment to perform the unit work at the lowest cost and the completion of the work within the time promised in the contract. However, due to the heavy design and quantity calculations before the start of the work, earthworks are generally carried out with the most easily available machines instead of the most suitable ones. In the thesis study, real-time observation and measurement of a real excavation route have been carried out, and an excavation frame system has been developed that calculates the production quantities and costs of construction machines per unit of time by modeling the capacity, engine power, and other technical and mechanical properties of various excavator and truck models on the excavation route. By simulating each truck model in the system on the excavation route, which was measured, the speed of the trucks at each measurement point and the critical distance values that will ensure safe passage was calculated and analyzed according to the road structure and conditions. With the calculations carried out, the engine power control of the trucks according to each measurement point, the total round-trip time, and the amount of fuel consumed per tour was determined. In addition, together with the excavation frame system realized by determining the idle time probabilities created by the combinations of construction equipment, the combinations of construction equipment that provide the highest work efficiency in the shortest time and at the lowest cost were determined by analyzing the parameters of waiting time, hourly transported capacity, spent unit fuel and total unit cost. The algorithm created within the scope of the thesis study was systematically coded through Excel Macro and developed in a way that earth workers can use and easily understand. In this way, besides the theoretical contribution of the thesis study, it will also contribute to the practical application.